


swerving on the 405 (i can never keep my eyes off this)

by kangdotcom (lovecheolmotion)



Series: throw me in the deep end (watch me drown) [1]
Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous Relationship, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Internal Monologue, Lots of it, M/M, Mixed Signals, Unresolved Conflict, ambiguous - Freeform, idk how to tag, somehow not mine was playing in my head on loop while writing this, sorta - Freeform, tags are a mess, yes i finally contributed to the tag, youngfeel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22749868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovecheolmotion/pseuds/kangdotcom
Summary: The orange of the streetlamps casts long and ominous shadows through the windows, effectively dimming the interior of the car.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Kim Wonpil
Series: throw me in the deep end (watch me drown) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636414
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	swerving on the 405 (i can never keep my eyes off this)

**Author's Note:**

> As you can guess, this is inspired by [Drive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oI-BsWbIg4) by Halsey.

"You're gripping the wheel too hard."

Younghyun's steely gaze flickered to his hands holding the steering wheel, noticing his knuckles pale as a sheet. The car zooms past a speed limit sign, an 80 kilometers per hour limit for the vehicle that's housing them right now. He loosens his hold, enough for the blood to come back. He looks up again at the empty highway, not fully taking in the scenery. His mind was far away, trying hard to not _think._ He pays no attention to Wonpil who just spoke, currently sitting beside him. The orange of the streetlamps casts long and ominous shadows through the windows, effectively dimming the interior of the car. 

His mind registers the _route 405_ sign at the right side of the road vaguely illuminated by the weak orange of a streetlight, letting his eyes focus on it until he feels it roll while the car speeds past, almost looking far-right and directly onto Wonpil's direction. He can feel the piercing gaze, beckoning him to make eye contact. He doesn't and instead fixes his piercing gaze back to the front again. He blinks languidly, followed by two, quick in succession. The vents are continuously letting out cold air, with the temperature control set to 8 out of 10. It was adjusted because the night was getting deeper and colder. His hands are suddenly itchy, sweat building up and irritating his palms. He takes a deep breath and inaudibly exhales. 

The silence goes on as the car picks up speed, going 73 kilometers per hour. The lamps lining the sides of the highway alternate from broken to functioning properly as they near the unkempt part of the town. He frowns, stepping on the gas.

The air is making Younghyun feel antsy, as though he's looking forward to what Wonpil will say next. But at the same time, he doesn't want to hear it. The feeling akin to anticipation is similar to how he felt roughly a decade ago when the person he just poured his heart out to was left speechless. He really wasn't fishing for reciprocation of his feelings, and Younghyun was defensive because at the back of his mind, he knew that that was exactly the case. It was knowing deep inside that bad news will be delivered but hope is a force to be reckoned, pushing one to just hold on a little longer. 

Obviously, he got rejected in the nicest way possible with the promising prospect of _being friends_ that honestly, almost made him cry. It was an attempt to make him feel a little better. Coupled with an unsolicited pity stare, it was very ironic. He walked away that day, not wanting to fall in love again. It's quite humorous that his renouncement of romantic prospects completely backfired. 

He doesn't want another pity stare, so he speaks. 

"Where's your exit?" His attempt for a nonchalant tone was shattered by the gruff voice he let out. He's thirsty, and he figures the cold air directed to his face is to blame. He cleared his throat with a low grunt, looking down at the middle of the seats where the gearshift and handbrake are, trying to locate the bottle of water he bought at the convenience store they stopped by hours ago. His eyes flicker back and forth like the lamp they just passed by, seemingly threatening to burst its bulb. He doesn't take notice. 

He gives up, instead fixates his attention to the controls of the temperature, turning it down to 6 out of 10 and from high to low cool. Something cold and wet bumps his right hand maneuvering the gearshift. He peers through the dim lighting and sees the water bottle he was searching for in the hands of Wonpil. "Here."

Younghyun wordlessly takes it, trying not to make any skin contact. It was already unscrewed. He takes a minimal sip, then a huge gulp. His throat felt like he swallowed a whole rock. He can feel Wonpil's gaze again, searching for something within the limited view that Younghyun is willing to offer. His whole posture is tense, jaw locked and breaths deep. He sets the bottle down, half empty. He hears the crunch of the plastic as the cap gets screwed shut. The click of the turn signal is heard, the arrow pointing to the right lighting up in green. He tilts the wheel to the right, switching lanes. The arrow turns off in two consecutive clicks. The road seems to stretch even longer. 

He now notices that there are no more lights lining the highway, seeing from his peripheral vision that there are reflective yellow-orange signs that are placed on the island that separates the northbound and southbound lanes. It's a pretty conducive alternative, he suffices. 

"It's near, right?" Younghyun tries again, his voice back to normal. He was careful to adjust his tone as well, sporting the previous nonchalant approach. He's pleased with himself, at least he was able to not ruin one thing. Small victories.

Wonpil doesn't reply, and Younghyun doesn't talk either. They pass by a sign that says _Lay-by 500M._ He slightly presses down on the brakes, now going 68 kilometers per hour. He feels a hand rest on his right shoulder which made him sharply intake a breath, body going rigid.

"I'm sorry." Of course, Younghyun thinks. _Of course, you're sorry._ He doesn't shrug off the hold. He doesn't reply either. He hears Wonpil sigh in disappointment, and he feels the pursing of his lips out of frustration. Funny how he knows him too well. The grip disappears. 

_Lay-by 300M._ He looks at it for a split second and bit the inside of his cheeks. Wonpil noticed the sign as well, the bright headlights of the car bouncing off it. Younghyun gnaws on his bottom lip now. 

"Let's stop by there," he suggested unsurely. Younghyun wants to disagree and just get this trip over with, but he figures that a conversation between them is long overdue. He decides to face whatever this is, and probably come out of it scraped but alive. He's hoping.

They pick up speed, and when the sign _Lay-by_ comes into view with an arrow pointing to a long but narrow space that can accommodate cars in a line, the car goes past it. Younghyun sees Wonpil’s head snap into his direction, "Wait—"

"We can talk without stopping," he cuts off, the tone set into finality. There is no room for more arguments. There was a beat, and—

"I know that we're not..." Younghyun trails off, a lump forming in his throat. He forces it down. "But I get it, okay? It's not like I was expecting anything, anyway." If he's great at something, that would be lying. Or so he tells himself. Self-assurance is the only way he can keep his sanity intact lest he loses composure. 

"I admit I'm confused," Wonpil’s soft voice starts, cutting off his increasingly erratic train of thoughts. "And a lot scared. But I think..." An audible gulp. The air is suddenly stuffy, making Younghyun scratch at his nape and thumb at his throat. It feels wrong to reach out his arm and turn the temperature back up. He regresses.

"I think we can both give this a chance." The hopeful tone is unmistakable. Younghyun almost scoffed, only managing to stop just in time. He's unbelieving, but when he feels the other shift on the seat and the hot breath fanning his ear, his hands almost slipped from the wheel. If it's from the sweat that gathered from his palms or from sheer surprise, he doesn't want to know. His heartbeat picks up, going 79 kilometers per hour, much like the speedometer of the vehicle as he unconsciously steps on the gas.

He's rendered speechless, and he knows that he's at the precipice.

"What do you say?" He didn't know that a mere whisper would crumble his resolve, his mind scrambling in forming coherent thoughts. The feeling of a pair of soft lips pressing on the side of his nape utterly disarmed him, defenseless.

Younghyun slams hard on the brakes, thanking the heavens for the both of them being rational and actually buckling their seatbelts for this trip. His eyes finally turn to look at Wonpil, who's looking at him with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, halfway through a gasp. He notices that he barely passed the conjunction that splits the highway and the exit that he's supposed to take, mind reeling. There was a single lamp-post bent slightly to the left, flickering bulb intact. He blinks at it for a moment, heaving like he just ran a marathon. The bulb turns dark and doesn't flicker back to life. His breaths suddenly calm. 

"We missed my exit," Wonpil breathes out. Younghyun nods, turning to face the road in front of them again. He shifts the gear and pressed on the gas. He does so in quick movements, not wanting to double-take and change his mind yet again. 

"Not really."

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, this is a fic that I finally finished after too many attempts. Not gonna lie, I've struggled to pen several drafts for several fandoms, but this flowed naturally out of my thoughts onto my notes app. And I guess writing at 3 in the morning helps. But don't do it frequently.
> 
> As always, thank you. Comments are greatly appreciated.


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